


Of Princesses and Songs

by wordsareleftbehind (froggydarren)



Series: In Another Life [5]
Category: Glee RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-08
Updated: 2013-05-08
Packaged: 2017-12-12 01:05:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/805359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/froggydarren/pseuds/wordsareleftbehind
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For CrisscolferAUWednesday<br/>Week #5: theme - hospital</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of Princesses and Songs

There's a commotion at the end of the hallway and Chris stiffens in the uncomfortable seat, eyes darting between the door the doctors are rushing into and his parents on the other side of the waiting room. It's not Hannah's room, but they're all that little bit more on edge when something's moving than when it's quiet and eerie.

_Maybe just a different kind of quiet_ , Chris thinks and slumps further down in the plastic chair, his back already aching even though they haven't been waiting that long.

"She'll be okay, Chris," his Mom whispers and startles him because he didn't realize she moved to sit next to him, "It wasn't a bad seizure this time."

"It still was one," Chris grumbles, "I hate seeing her like this. Being here."

"I know, honey," he heard the words, but any reassurance from his Mom falls flat.

"I'll be… I'm going to go for a walk," he lifts himself off the seat, regaining his balance, "Do you want me to get you a drink?"

Both his parents nod and he doesn't need to ask to know he'll be looking for coffee for them, preferably not of the vending machine type. He nods and walks out with a backwards glance, noticing his Mom moving back to his Dad's side and clutching the phone in her hand. Chris knows they'll call him if anyone comes with news and he doesn't want to go, but he also can't handle staying anymore. There have been too many times when he almost drove himself crazy sitting in the waiting room, afraid that if he left, something would change and he wouldn't make it back to his family as fast as he'd want to.

The halls of the hospital are strangers to him, like all the people he passes by, but also all too familiar from previous visits. It's not usually this hospital, San Francisco isn't always necessary, but it is where Hannah's specialist is and it had been time for her annual tests when she got the latest seizure so they ended up here. That is one thing Chris doesn't quite mind, it gets him out of Clovis, at least, out of the heat of the town, literal and figurative. It gets him away from the hell he's dealing with there, one he'll have another few months to put up with. It gives him hope that he'll be able to get away for good.

There's always the mild guilt that it takes his sister being sick for him to feel free. Chris can't shake the nagging feeling that he shouldn't feel relieved to be out of Clovis when the reason is Hannah's health. But it's not enough of a bad feeling to stop him from feeling hopeful.

He keeps walking the halls and barely pays attention to the bright paintings on the walls, the pediatric ward's distinct feature. They're not new and Chris knows he'll miss them a little once Hannah is older, once the hospital will start treating her as an adult. It's not far away and as much as he hopes that they won't be back here, Chris knows well that it's not a possibility.

Just as he's turning into the corridor that he knows leads into the playroom he's spent many a time with Hannah in, he startles at an unexpected sound, a soft music coming from the direction of the room he's been heading to.

Following the unexpected sound, Chris turns the final corner and stops in the door of the playroom, his eyes flying open at the sight in front of him. A young man, a little older than Chris is, is sitting on a cushion in the middle of the floor, guitar in his hands, and a group of the younger patients in a semi-circle around him. Chris immediately recognizes the song that echoes through the room and can't help the weak smile that tugs on his lips.

_Disney, how appropriate_ , Chris thinks as the man starts the chorus of a Mulan song.

For a while, he barely manages to breathe, taken in by the view. _And the man himself_ , Chris admits to himself because he finds that he can't tear his eyes from the curls framing a face that's bright and cheerful, standing out in the usually somber atmosphere.

"Chris!" a small girl calls out to him and Chris startles, realizing that he drifted off in his thoughts and the song's now finished, the chattering of the kids filling the room.

She's one of the more regular patients, like Hannah, and Chris spent some of his visits here playing with her while he was waiting for his sister's results or for her tests to be done.

"Hey Daisy," he crouches down to her level, "you've lost the IV!"

She's so much shorter than him, especially now that he's hit yet another growth spurt and the girl eyes him curiously when he stands up again once they've hugged.

"You're taller again," she frowns, "come on, you have to come with me!"

Chris' hand slips into her smaller one and immediately gets tugged into the room.

"This is Darren," she waves towards the curly man who's stashing away his guitar, "but he told me some people call him Daisy, just like me. I told him it's silly, because Daisy is a girl name," she rolls her eyes with all the attitude a seven year old can muster.

" _Daisy!_ " Darren narrows his eyes at the girl, "That was a secret!"

"Chris won't laugh, I promise," she replies, chastised, "he likes Harry Potter and princesses, like you do. You should be friends."

With that, she marches off towards the bookshelf Chris has spent plenty of afternoons reading from to the kids in the room.

"Hi," Darren smiles sheepishly and holds out his hand, "I'm Darren."

Chris mutters his own name and brings his hand forward. There's a spark of static between their palms as they touch and Chris' eyes dart up to find an expression filled with surprise that matches his own. 


End file.
